An organic electroluminescence element (also referred to as “organic EL element”) is an electronic element including a pair of electrodes and an organic compound layer placed between the electrodes. An electron and a hole are injected from the pair of electrodes, and the electron and the hole recombine in the organic compound layer. As a result, an exciton of a luminous organic compound is produced and the organic light emitting element emits light when the exciton returns to its ground state.
At least one organic compound layer is placed between the electrodes of an organic light emitting element. Available as one layer constituting the organic compound layer is an electron injection layer that serves to inject and transport an electron injected from a cathode into an emission layer. For example, an alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal derivative has been widely known as a constituent material for the electron injection layer. It is because each of the alkaline metal and alkaline earth metal derivatives is a material having a small work function and shows a good electron injection property that the alkaline metal or alkaline earth metal derivative is used as the constituent material for the electron injection layer. However, it has been known that each of the alkaline metal and alkaline earth metal derivatives is a material that easily reacts with water, and an organic light emitting element including any one of the alkaline metal and alkaline earth metal derivatives as a constituent material for its electron injection layer is affected by moisture in the air. Therefore, at present, the organic light emitting element needs to be stringently sealed so that the organic light emitting element may not be exposed to the moisture in the air. Meanwhile, various researches and developments have been conducted on a method of stably driving the organic light emitting element even in the air except the sealing in order to eliminate an influence of the moisture in the air.
As one method of improving the stability of the organic light emitting element against the moisture in the air, there is known, for example, a method involving introducing Compound a-1 having an electron donor property and Compound a-2 having an electron acceptor property shown below into the electron injection layer like PTL 1.

In the electron injection layer of the organic light emitting element of PTL 1, the compound having an electron donor property (D molecule) donates an electron to the compound having an electron acceptor property (A molecule), whereby charge (an electron) is generated. In addition, a strong interaction occurs between the D molecule and the A molecule, and hence a polarized DA complex is produced. Thus, the organic light emitting element of PTL 1 can perform the injection of an electron.
NPL 1 discloses Viologen Compound b-1 shown below as a compound having a high electron donor property. Viologen Compound b-1 below is a compound that is stable in the air, and is a compound that serves to reduce the work function of a gold electrode.
